What makes a product iconic?
Is it the form, the function—or the cultural moment it captured?
Is it the form, the function—or the cultural moment it captured?
In this experiment, we project the Bialetti Moka Express through the lens of 1960s Space Age design, using AI to imagine alternate realities of this household icon.
From American Googie curves and chrome optimism, to European biomorphism and Soviet angular futurism, the Moka is bombarded with stylistic signals from a time when design aspired to orbit the stars.
What remains when you distort its shell?
What gets lost when an icon is stretched too far?
And how does AI decide what makes a product iconic?
What gets lost when an icon is stretched too far?
And how does AI decide what makes a product iconic?
The anatomy of iconic design:
- A bold silhouette – unmistakably octagonal
- Faceted surfacing – engineered geometry with personality
- The angled handle – practical yet sculptural
- The pressure valve – function as visible identity
